Round 10 Review – NPL NSW Men’s 20’s

Blacktown City are eight points out in front at the top of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 20s table; their lead stretching again at the end of Round 10 after another win along with dropped points elsewhere.

Three teams sit level behind the leaders: Rockdale City Suns, APIA Leichhardt Tigers and Sydney Olympic. Olympic might have held the gap to five points but were defeated 3-0 by Sydney United on Sunday afternoon, while Rockdale and APIA both picked up 2-0 wins against Wollongong and Manly respectively.

Match of the Round: Blacktown City FC 4-1 Marconi Stallions FC, Sunday at Lily Homes Stadium

Blacktown City are on a roll and won’t stop for anyone; the competition leaders coming from behind to thrash Marconi Stallions 4-1 at Lily Homes Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Lachlan Sepping opened the scoring from the penalty spot after a poor challenge from Alen Aganovic five minutes before halftime, but Blacktown roared back after the break. Carlos De Oliviera equalised with a stunning goal, before Josh Bartolotto, Connor Rose and Suley Bangura each found the net to help Blacktown to their sixth win in seven matches.

Marconi started quickly and might have opened the scoring after only a few minutes when Advin Trebinevic pounced on a loose ball at the top of the Blacktown penalty area, but he sent his shot whistling just wide of the near post.

Blacktown eased into the match but were soon in control, with Carlos De Oliviera and Alec Purves combining well down the left to win a free kick in dangerous territory. The set piece came off the wall and fell to De Oliviera, who turned and shot but saw his effort saved by Aiden Kenny.

De Oliviera continued to drive the Blacktown attack as they searched for an opener. He hit another freekick against the wall with the deflection dropping to Daniel Colosimo, who could only swing at the air in front of him, rather than through the ball.

Marconi were struggling to establish a foothold in the match but were gifted a penalty five minutes before the half when Lachlan Sepping broke into the Blacktown box, only for Alen Aganovic to slide through the forward after he’d touched the ball out of reach.

Sepping stepped up to the spot to put his side in front; Dylan Niski with little hope as he stared down the penalty in blinding sun at Lily Homes Stadium.

Blacktown returned from the break determined to turn the game around, and Suley Bangura appeared the man most likely to make an immediate difference.

He should have equalised when he found himself on the end of a beautiful cross onto the edge of the six-yard box, but smacked his shot against the crossbar on the volley. He came close again soon after when a ball from the midfield ran ahead of him at the edge of the area, but Aiden Kenny was able to get down well to make a save.

It was little surprise when the equaliser came for Blacktown City, but few could have seen it being spectacular goal. Anthony Gallo skipped down the left before flicking a ball inside for De Oliviera, who took a touch to set himself before curling an incredible shot over the goalkeeper and into the far top corner.

Aiden Kenny had no chance with the leveller, but only had himself to blame when Josh Bartolotto put Blacktown in front just three minutes later. The goalkeeper took far too long to clear and was closed down by Bangura; the ball spinning out for Daniel Colosimo give Bartolotto a clear shot at goal.

Blacktown were irrepressible  going forward, and Connor Rose came off the bench to add a third soon after their second. Driving down the right, he might have cut a ball across the goal for Bangura but instead hit a fierce shot past Kenny from a difficult angle.

Bangura had deserved a goal for his effort and was finally rewarded in the final ten minutes when he drifted behind the Marconi backline to pick up a driven cross from the right; controlling the ball on the spot before coolly putting his shot away.

There would be no late fightback from Marconi, nor any more goals from the hosts to inflate the scoreline even further. Blacktown move eight points ahead of Rockdale, APIA and Sydney Olympic and the end of Round 10, and appear in no mood to slow down just yet.

Match Stats

Blacktown City FC 4 (De Oliviera 56’, Bartolotto 59’, Rose 73’, Bangura 82’)

Marconi Stallions FC 1 (Sepping 40’)

12th May, 2019

Lily Homes Stadium, Seven Hills

Blacktown City FC: 27. PURVES Alec, 34. BANGURA Suley, 26. AGANOVIC Alen, 25. INGRAM Mason, 35. DE SILVA Rhett, 32. DE OLIVIERA Carlos, 29. COLOSIMO Daniel, 39. BARTOLOTTO Josh, 31. HUTCHINGS Jack, 33. GALLO Anthony, 20. NISKI Dylan

Marconi Stallions FC: 15. SEPPING Lachlan, 35. SOARES Kye, 18. TRIMBOLI Anthony, 39. SACCO Gian, 31. NASCIMBEN Christian, 26. NICOLAOU Kristofer, 36. RAILZ Nicholas, 32. TREBINEVIC Advin, 40. TSEKENIS Damian, 27. LOCAPUTO-PANAGIS Dylan, 34. KENNY Aiden

Saturday

Wollongong Wolves 0-2 Rockdale City Suns, 4pm at Win Stadium

Rockdale are up into second place after a 2-0 win at Wollongong Wolves on Saturday afternoon; their first victory since mid-April.

Noah Botic scored for the third week running, while Jake Trajkovski was also on target to help Rockdale to all three points.

Rockdale now turn their attentions to next week’s match against Sutherland Sharks, while Wollongong Wolves can look forward to a clash with Marconi Stallions after their second defeat in as many weeks.

Sutherland Sharks 1-1 Sydney FC, 4.30pm at Seymour Shaw

There was no separating Sutherland Sharks and Sydney FC in their Round 10 clash at Seymour Shaw, with a point doing little to help either in their efforts to challenge at the top of the table.

James Temelkovski and Jake Hollman traded goals in the first half, with the two sides going into the break at 1-1 before a goalless second half.

Fifth-placed Sutherland Sharks host second-placed Rockdale in Round 11, while Sydney FC travel to Belmore Sports Ground to take on Sydney Olympic.

APIA Leichhardt Tigers 2-0 Manly United, 5pm at Lambert Park

APIA Leichhardt bounced back from defeat in Round 9 to beat Manly United 2-0 at Lambert Park on Saturday afternoon; the win taking the Tigers up into equal-second along with Rockdale and Sydney Olympic.

Michael Trajkovski and Zeke Prisuda were on the scoresheet for APIA, who will be keen to build on their Round 10 performance as they look ahead to a match against Mt Druitt next weekend.

Manly United, meanwhile, return to Cromer Park to take on Sydney United 58, who remain bottom of the table despite a 3-0 win over Sydney Olympic on Sunday.

Sunday

Hakoah Sydney City East 4-2 Mt Druitt Town Rangers, 3pm at Hensley Athletic Field

Hakoah Sydney City East hit four past Mt Druitt Town Rangers as they fought to a 4-2 win at Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday afternoon.

Steven Chester, Harry Jones, Peter Turrall and Hesan Soufi found the back of the net for the hosts, while Christian Long and Alvin Singh were on the scoresheet for the visitors.

Mt Druitt were hardly helped by a red card to Matthew Crossley as they slipped to their third defeat in a row ahead of a match against APIA Leichhardt in Round 11.

Hakoah are on a roll with two wins from two, but will face a far tougher challenge when they travel to Lily Homes Stadium next weekend to take on competition leaders Blacktown City.

Sydney United 58 3-0 Sydney Olympic, 3pm at Sydney United Sports Centre

Sydney United stunned Sydney Olympic in Round 11 as they breezed to a 3-0 win at Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon.

Sam Perre scored twice while Ivan Bratjanscak was also on hand to help United over the line, with the hosts leading by a goal at the break before adding two more in the second half.

The result means Sydney Olympic continue their slide down the table: from second place to fourth, and now eight points behind Blacktown City.

Olympic return to Belmore Sports Ground in Round 11 as they look for their first win since mid-April, while Sydney United can look forward to a match against Manly.

-By Max Grieve